Vehicle propelled by compressed air



(No Model.)

' D. S. TROY.

VEHICLE PROPELLED BY COMPRESSED AIR. No. 300,290. Patented June 10, 1884.

INVENTOR 7Q .J/E J v AAMyMIg V I BY ATTORNEYS.

N. PEIERS, vmmuhn n hur, Wnhingtom DJ;

4 UNITED STATES DANIEL s. TROY, OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

VEHICLE PROPELLED BY COMPRESSED AIR'.

- SPECIFICATION forming part 01' Letters Patent No. 300,290,,dated @Tune 10. 1884.

Application filled March 20,4924. (No model.)

To'allwhom it may concern:

.Be it' known that I, DANIELS. TROY, of Montgomery, in thecounty of Montgomery I and State of Alabama, have invented a new a'nd Improved Vehicle Propelled by Gompressed Air, of which the following is a full,

' clear, andexact description.

The object of myinvention is 'to provide. road-vehicles of improved construction ar-- m ranged to be operated by compressed aircarn-ied'by the vehicle.

The. invention consists in a vehicle construeted with its axle or axles and reach made hollow and connected to serve as areservoir for compressed air; also, in the'arrangement of the body of the vehicle in whole or in part as an air-reservoir, and connected with the hollow portions of the running-gear, the air- '3 reservoirsbeing adapted tobe chargedat a" central or roadside station,from which, the vehicle may be. dispatched as a self-contained motor, all as hereinafter fully describedand claimed.

Reference is to be had-to the accompanying drawings; forming a part of this specification, in whichsimila'r letters of reference. indicate correspondingpari's in'all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a four-wheeled vehicle constructed in accordancefwith my invention,and partly broken away. Fig. 2.is.a cross-sectional elevation through the rear axle on line a: :v, Fig.1, and with parts broken away. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation on line 3/ 3 Fig. 1, with parts broken away.

5 The letter a indicates .thehind axle; the

reach, and c the front axle, of an improved "four-wheeled vehicle. I enlarge these parts considerably in diameter, and make them holer e s eryo rs for comp essed air. 4e I-onnect the axles with the reach, so that all shall act a single air-reservoir. This-maybe done in variousways- At the ,front axle, c, I arrange chambers c, which are duplicates of the chambers of of the hind axle, and shown in section. at the left-hand side of Fig. 2. I- connect the chambers c by a'tube, d, from which rises avhollow. tube or pintlo, e, which is fitted by a packedjoint into the head or bulb f, connecting the tube d with the reach I), and so ina annerto permit the forward wheels to swing freelyou \thc fifth-wheel g, which is "tons in the airengine axle a, which strongly braces the running-gear against. fireside-thrusts} of 10 :the vehicle while in -'i, areclipped tov thebodv w of the=ve hicle at held on .a' bar, It, attached to the forward springs, i, which connect atth'cirlower'halves or members by the clips j with the tube ,d. Thetubec is apcrturcd for freeeomnnmicat'ion with the head f, in which thchollow, reach b-isfitted, and the chambersc' communicate with the tube (3 and the i nteriorof the hollow axle c, and as the tube 0 stands at the center of the filth-wheel git is inthe axis-M 160 motion of the forward whcels'in swinging then;

on the fifth-wheel iromside to side in turning the vehicle, which mayireely be done while maintaining communication 'betweenthe, interior of the reach andfront axle, as will ily he understood. The forward wheels, 1:, may

be fitted'on'the h'ub-bearingsl either;loosely,- return on the hearings, or they may beffitt-ed tightly thereon, and the axle ma turn with the wheels, the chambers c'being ted on the axle with-suitable collars, l, at each SidGifiXGd on the axle, and with packings m between the collars and the chambers, to insure close joints to prevent escape of the compressed air therc- 7 at.'- This construction with thewheelsfixed totheir axle is preferred for the hind wheels 11' on' bearings k of axle a, whiclrlattcr Iishow reduced materially in size at thercenter to form opposite driving-cra nks,e, on which pitman-rods p from the cross-heads of the pisv cylinder or c 'lin'dexs q are fitted to drive the hind axle and wheels either way in moving the vehicle. v

, An axial tube, r, connecting the hollow cranks o, has mounted ouit the eccentric s, strapped 8'5 loosely to the stem t-,which works the air valves ofthe engine-cylinders. The tube rand cranks o communicate with each other and'with the two sectionsa of the axle a, which sections, thrnughthe chambers aon the axle and thc go pipesiorxtubesu v, communicate freely with the reach, so that boththe front and rear axles and the-reach form a common reservoir-forthe compressed ai r to drive the vehicle. The cross tube or pipe naconnects the chambers a, and 5 the tube 1) branchcsirom it at either side to the reach, whiclnit joins at I), thus making a. connection of the reach with ,the tube u and the hind parts of .use. The hind springs,

read- 65 1 of the vehicle hollow and air-tight, to serve also as an air-reservoir, and connect it to the reach or to either of the cross-tubes d u by a whol-low axles and reads, asaresenvoirfor the.

flexible connection, 10', which will permit a free vertical movement of the bodyon the springs, to accommodate varying loads carried and the condition of the roads traveled over. The body w of the vehicle thus serves,with the compressed air, wh ich may be forced inthrough a valve, 10, connecting-with the reach b, or at anypartofthe air-reservoir. The'com resscd air-passestotheengine-cylindervalvest rough a pipe, b, loading from a-poi'nt of the reservoir. allowin a valve, to be placed within easy reach 0 the rider, for starting and stopping the vehicle, and a pressureg'e, d, and safety-valve e may be fitted to t c air-reser voir at any suitable locations. i To steer thevehicle I provide a shalt, f having a pinion, 9i, gearing with a toothed wheel, h ,'fixcd to the filth-wheel 9, said shaft having a suitable handle device, j, for turning it either way to swing the forward wheels an axle, as ma be desired. I do notl mit myself to the precise construction and arrangement of the parts of a vehicle as herein shown and described, as -for instance, the body 1v may have its floor portion only madehollow. to servcas nn air-reservoir;

or a-cominnous zigzag pipcor tube may ruige back and forth within the body, to serve as an air-reservoir, and connect with the reach and axles, substantially as above described.

My improvement may aisobe nppliedto venicles of various constructions-as, for instance, to two-wheeled vehicles with a suitable steering-wheel-and also to vehicles of varying size for different requirements, all ofwhichvehiclcs may be charged with the compressed air at a roadside station, and mu be run long distsuces with greater swi ness and coonom thslu can be attained by travel with drait-un ms s.

Having thus described my invention, Lclsim as new and desiretosecure by Letters Patent-- 1. A vehicle constructed, substantially-as herein shown and described, with itsaxle or axles and reach made hollow and communicating toservc as a reservoir for com ressed air to be utilized in driving the vehic e, substantially as herein specified.

2. A vehicle constructed with its axle or axles and reach and its body portion in whole or in part made hollow and communicating to serve as a reservoir for eomprcssed'air to be utilized in driving the vehicle, substantiallyas shown and I 3. A vehicle constructed with its axle .or axlcs'and reach made hollow and commnni' eating with each other to form a reserr or for compressed air, in combination-with a vompressed-air engine secured thereto and constructed to revolve one of said axles, substantially as set forth. c

v4. A vehicle constructed with its body, axle 1 on axles, and reach made hollow and. communicating to form a reservoir for com ressed air, in combination with a comp -aireno giue secured to the body and constructed to revolve one of the axles, snbstnnti lly as set forth. m f

5. The combination of the hollow with the hollow axles a c and cross-tubes I connecting the hollow sxleswith the reach connected to the aria by the chambers a' 1, whereby a continuous reservoir-is formed, substantially as set forth.

6.. The combination of the hollow body \a with the hollow reach (I and hollow axles c a, with the flexible piple a! connecting the hollow body with the ollow reach, whereby s continuous hollow s nice is formed within the body, reach,-and ax es, to serve an reservoir, 5 substantially as set forth.

7. ,The combination of. the continuous hollow communicating body, axles, and reach, the mum-x1e being hollowsv crooked. as stocks 7 said collars and chambers, substantially asset forth. VA

9. The connection between thehollow front axle, crow-pipe d, and the hollow communieating reach,- which consistsin the hollow perforated tube c on the cross-pi d, and buibf surrounding said perforat tube and connected to and communicatin' with the reach b.

DAXiEL s. TROY Witnesses:

' Huss 0. Tourism amt. TROY.

with an air-engine, q, communicating With co 

